• What: AT's New York Design Meetup (Signup here)
• August Guests: 6 Members with problem rooms
• Members: 1,109 and growing
• When: 6:30-9pm, Wednesday, August 12
• Where: Knoll Showroom, 76 9th Avenue, Floor 11, NYC
This is tonight! This eve, we've got six great submissions for problem rooms that could use group apartment therapy. We'll kick off at 7pm sharp and each person will get 3 minutes to present and 7 minutes of feedback. Above is really quite a stunning before and after from Elizabeth Kenney. Her problem now?...
How to hang pictures on this new wall:
"What has me completely stuck, is how to hang a very eclectic assortment of artwork on this wall." Her whole question is below, but come on down and see all the rooms on Wednesday...
From Elizabeth for the pics above:
"I am a textile designer (Knoll is actually one of my clients), a
single mom with two small kids, 2 and 6, and I have a simple yet
challenging problem. Last year, I did a gut renovation of our whole
apartment and the result is fun, active and has a lot of color,
artwork, and ethnic textiles throughout from Africa, Asia, and South
America. The entire apartment is a 634 sq ft, 2 BR. Wall space is at
a premium and I imagined this big orange wall in the living room would
be a fun gallery like space for an assortment of artwork, ethnic
objects, and kids art
What has me completely stuck, is how to hang a very eclectic
assortment of artwork on this wall. Mostly I'm terrified because it
is plaster, there are a lot of small pieces of art and I fear if I
don't like it, I'll have to patch and paint. I'm comfortable laying
out a composition, measuring distance, nailing, hanging, etc. What I
don't know is this - Will it make the room look too cluttered? Is it
weird to have artwork above a wall with the sofa perpendicular? Will
the kids want to climb up on the sofa and take the art off the wall?
Is the space just too small for so many visual elements? Do I hang it
permanently, or try to use ledges in a high/low arrangement that leave
things open for mixing things up? Will this even work for a mix of
framed and 3D pieces?
The overall size of the room is 16x16' with 11ft ceilings so it feels
very open. It is our combined kitchen/LR/DR/office (that's the
'office' tucked behind the sofa around the corner from the wall
shelf). The sofa has to be where it is, butting the wall, because the
TV is on the wall to the right between the window and the door to the
terrace. The kitchen occupies the entire wall opposite the orange one
and is done in shades of neutral - white Caesarstone, maple cabinets,
glass tile backsplash, stainless appliances.
Attached are three photos that show before, after, and the artwork for
the wall. Thank you for considering my little dilemma for Wednesday
evening. Looking forward to a great event!"
Best,
Elizabeth Kenney
Please RSVP if you plan to join us for this special Meetup. We hope that switching up the format this month will give everyone an extra chance to mingle and meet one another!
I would re-paint the wall, and add magnetic additive to the paint. That way, she could just put everything up with pretty magnets, like a giant refrigerator door, and her wall won't get destroyed.
Or add a picture rail, which I love, but I'm not sure it would work for this apartment.
view deliriumsama's profile
wow great reno. I still think you could do some salon style hanging with everything you've got on that lovely wall... maybe put them all in frames that are not consistent in size but maybe have the same color frame? You could hit a flea market for cheap frames and then paint them all white or all brown or all black or even the same color as the wall itself.
What IS that wall color anyhow? I am dying to use that in my kitchen and keep ending up with a 'macaroni and cheese' color that doesn't work.
view pdesign's profile
I'd say go with string/rope and clothespins for make-shift art display where you can move the kids' artworks in and out as they generate them. :)
Or install a horizontal or vertical metal bar of sorts and use magnets to stick the works on in a planned chaos sort of manner.
view MODERnestS's profile
I tried the paint with magnetic additives on a project and unfortunately it's not very strong. My pictures were in little plexi frames that were only a few ounces and they kept slipping down the semi-magnetized wall.
view serialsquares's profile
I love that color - you mentioned orange. Do you mind sharing the brand & name? :)
view A-Lee3's profile
I recently used these hooks called Command Hooks. They don't make a hole on your wall and they are easily removable if you make a mistake. They come in different sizes, depending on the weight of what you want to hang. I was delighted with them, they may be the solution for you too.
You can buy them on Amazon, here http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=command hooks&x=0&y=0
view idontdobeige's profile
Hi, This is Elizabeth - thanks 'idontdobeige' - love the suggestion of the Command hooks. For those of you wondering what the paint color is:
Benjamin Moore 'Sparkling Sun' #2020-30
I'm a big believer in paint color name karma, and this one looked and sounded like a winner for a sunny South-facing room.
view bklynebeth's profile
I really like your rug-- do you mind sharing where you found it?
view amandakb's profile
My daughters and I all have a lot of art on our walls and it may look cluttered to some people but we like the look. It does help a lot to have similar style frames. I stick with plain black frames mostly---a few wood tone ones and some metals, maybe. I bought a mat cutter years ago (Alto 4501) and I buy frames at auction or on sale from the chain craft stores. I've framed 100 pieces for a tiny fraction of what it would cost to have them done in a shop.
I don't think kids will be tempted to take the art down. I think it'll become part of the landscape and they won't pay much attention to it once it's been up for a week or two, especially if they have their own area to hang their own art, like in their bedroom or on the fridge or wherever.
view spanky's profile
This is really a great post!
This seems to show the perfect combination of colors and trends in designing.
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view HostWisely's profile
i think it will look nice if you align the start point of all the art work with the back line of the sofa. and you can either leave the back (space between the sofa and the bookshelf and soffit n blank or have something that pops up, like a big piece (maybe a big mirror if you like mirrors)
view OjitosLindos's profile
It might be possible to take the metal picture wire ( like the ones from ikea) and hang them vertically. Then you could attach the pictures with clips. I would attach both top and bottom of picture to the wire so they are straight. Then I might feature any irregular shaped items in the space between where I hung the vertical lines- on shelves or plate hooks or whatever. I'll try to find a picture of what I am talking about and post it.
view arindee's profile
Hi Elizabeth again...someone asked about the rug. Here is the whole room and where it's all from:
Table/Chairs/Sofa - Room and Board
Rug - Garnet Hill
Pendant Light - Poul Christiansen for Le Klint through Hive Modern
Small Side Table - ARVID
Book Case - custom
view bklynebeth's profile